This week remained unsettled and vehement from global affairs’ point of view. If the Russia-Ukraine war was not enough to disrupt global peace and security, the terrorist attack of Hamas on Israel invoked a ferocious struggle of identity proclamation between Israel and Palestine. This did not remain limited to Israel and Palestine but involved the entire world into it. Since 7 October 2023, a new chapter is getting added to the conflict every day. Apart from this new theatre of war opened in the Levant region, deadly mass shootings in the US left 18 dead and many injured this week. At least 18 people are dead and over 12 are injured after shootings at a bar and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine. A policeman is the main accused and the US authorities are working to maintain law and order, but the integral question remains the same, “when will such mass shooting episodes stop in the US?” More than this, another pertinent question that should be asked to the US authorities is that why despite many statements given by the leaders of the US after every such incident of mass shootings, stringent and effective gun and violence control norms could not be formed? Last but not the least, this week also left the world shocked with the removal of the Chinese Defence Minister (like always though)!
US INTERVENTION IN Israel-Hamas conflict will escalate the tensions
It seems that the violent conflict between Israel and Hamas will not stop in a day or two; or for that matter any sooner. Apart from this historical conflict, other countries have also got actively involved in the conflict. Last week, the trip of the US President, Biden and the UK Prime Minister, Sunak, to Israel could not contribute much in stopping the violence or finding a long-term solution of the issue. In the latest developments this week, Israel entered Gaza. Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated, “When we enter Gaza, in the continuation of the fighting, we will collect the full price from the murderers, the perpetrators of the horrific atrocities of Hamas-ISIS. I call once again to the non-involved population in Gaza-evacuate to the south of the Gaza Strip.” In the meantime, the Palestinian ambassador requested the UN to help in stopping of bombings in Gaza to save lives. He made this request in a UN meeting. Israel’s representative responded by reiterating Israel’s commitment to the core aim of eliminating Hamas. Gilad Erden, the Israeli ambassador to the US stated clearly that Israel is not fighting a war with Palestine but with Hamas, which is a “the terrorist organisation does not care about Palestinian people, peace or dialogue.” While Israel remained busy in containing Hamas and invading Gaza, the US deployed its sophisticated warships along with the fighter aircraft, including two aircraft carriers, and has increased the number of troops in the region. It has also added to the thousands of US combatants in the region. The official statements from Pentagon made it clear that the US military steered airstrikes against two facilities in eastern Syria, which, according to Pentagon, were used by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran along with the affiliated terrorist organisations. The US is now on forefront of Israel-Hamas conflict, and is attacking Iran and Iran-backed groups. This is not only going to intensify the tensions in the region; already worse humanitarian situation may become worst, and hence at least now, the international institutions and platforms must act to restore peace in the region.
Rising mass shootings in US is dark spot on its Democracy
Restoring peace is one of the toughest tasks. Take the example of the US, a highly developed, democratic country! A symbol of prosperity and development! But the violent mass shootings are a dark spot on its prestige, development and democratic culture. The accused in the incident happened this week is a policeman, but most of the time, the culprits are young students or middle-aged males. According to a survey conducted on gun ownership in the US, half of all the guns owned by private citizens in the world are in the US. The survey also states that the number of firearms exceeds the country’s population, 393 million guns owned by 328 million people. At social level, there are significant issues that need to be discussed in context of the society and value system of the US. At the political level, it is evident that due to the powerful gun lobby, toughening of gun control laws finds opposition from many political leaders. The US has lenient gun control laws and firearms can be purchased easily. Gun rights are enshrined in the US Constitution. However, whenever a mass shootout takes place, demand for tougher gun control laws comes to the picture. When would this be done remains a critical question.
It seems this week decided to give shocks to the world. Another shocking news came from China where China’s leadership formally dismissed its Defense Minister, Li Shangfu, after his disappearance from the public eye for almost two months. Though, like always, no explanations have been provided by the Chinese authorities on this issue, it seems to be a result of some major tiff between the top stakeholders of China’s ruling Communist Party and Li.
Balancing looks like a very difficult task, however, it becomes easy when learnt. Global leaders need to apply this act of balancing to power, people, so
